Larks (Alaudidae)
Black-crowned Sparrow-lark (Eremopterix nigriceps) - HBW 9, p. 572
French: Moinelette à front blanc
German: Weißstirnlerche
Spanish: Terrera Negrita
Other common names: Black-crowned Finch-lark, White-fronted/White-crested Sparrow-lark/Finch-lark
Taxonomy: Pyrrhalauda [sic] nigriceps Gould, 1839, São Tiago, Cape Verde Islands.
Relationships obscure. Sometimes placed in a superspecies with E. verticalis, E. signatus and E. leucopareia, but has also been considered to form a superspecies with E. leucotis on basis of male plumage patterns; alternatively, often regarded as closest to E. griseus. Geographical variation largely clinal, size increasing from W to E. Birds from Socotra described as race forbeswatsoni, but considered indistinguishable from melanauchen. Four subspecies recognized.
Subspecies and Distribution:
- nigriceps (Gould, 1839) - Cape Verde Is.
- albifrons (Sundevall, 1850) - Mauritania and Senegal E to Sudan (E to R Nile).
- melanauchen (Cabanis, 1851) - E Sudan E to extreme S Iraq, Kuwait and C & S Arabian Peninsula, and S to Somalia and Socotra.
- affinis (Blyth, 1867) - SE Iran E to Pakistan and NW India.
- Least Concern Enlarge map
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A male eating seeds on the ground and then alert. Locality Desert National Park, Rajasthan, India (ssp affinis)
Josep del Hoyo 22 February 2011 1 year ago 24 sec 4.5 -
A female standing on the ground Locality Arakhiya Farm, Al Rayyan, Qatar (ssp melanauchen)
Josep del Hoyo 15 May 2008 4 years ago 26 sec 4.4 -
A male feeding seeds on the ground. Locality Desert National Park, Rajasthan, India (ssp affinis)
Josep del Hoyo 22 February 2011 1 year ago 23 sec 4.3 -
A pair displaying, the male trying to copulate with the female Locality Arakhiya Farm, Al Rayyan, Qatar (ssp melanauchen)
Josep del Hoyo 15 May 2008 4 years ago 34 sec 4.2 -
A male on the top of a pile of dirt Locality Arakhiya Farm, Al Rayyan, Qatar (ssp melanauchen)
Josep del Hoyo 15 May 2008 4 years ago 23 sec 4 -
Several males on the ground, some of them collecting nest material Locality Arakhiya Farm, Al Rayyan, Qatar (ssp melanauchen)
Josep del Hoyo 15 May 2008 4 years ago 32 sec 4
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A bird on the ground.
Locality Sohar, Al Batinah Governorate, Oman (ssp melanauchen)
Hanne and Jens Eriksen 42 weeks ago 4.2 -
A male on the ground.
Locality Desert National Park, Rajasthan, India (ssp affinis)
Josep del Hoyo 22 February 2011 1 year ago 4.2 -
A female on the ground.
Locality Dhofar Governorate, Oman (ssp melanauchen)
Fran Trabalon 4 January 2011 1 year ago 4.1 -
It was feeding on irrigated melons field in the desert.
Locality Al Beed Farm, Dhofar Governorate, Oman (ssp melanauchen)
ahmet karataş 24 January 2013 13 weeks ago 4 -
Resident
Locality Tal Chhapar Wildlife Sanctuary, Churu District, Rajasthan, India
jugal Tiwari 22 May 2010 2 years ago 4 -
A male on the ground.
Locality Dhofar Governorate, Oman (ssp melanauchen)
Fran Trabalon 4 January 2011 1 year ago 3.8
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Calling on the wing Locality Rajasthan, India
(ssp affinis)
RAM GOPAL SONI 1 March 1990 3 years ago 4
